Uzumaki Naruto: Forge Your Own Way
by Tongues
Summary: When the Kyuubi is sealed, Naruto is taken by Jiraiya to be kept safe. Thinking he's found the key to power, he aims to surpass the Yondaime. The real question is where will this power take him? Can he be saved from corruption? Up for adoption.
1. Chapter 1

Uzumaki Naruto: Forge Your Own Way

This is my third fic. I just came up with the idea when I realized I write best when I can be creative, where I can expand the boundaries of Naruto the series without actually screwing up the series. In my other fic with that kind of theme, Seals of Fate, I never ran out of ideas, but he never became too powerful to be unable to die. In fact, near the end, Naruto began losing power, until he was the Hokage, with little left besides his own skill. Like that, I intend for this to be a fic that expands the boundaries. I hope you enjoy it. Forge your own way.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its contents. However, I almost want to change my name so that I can claim that I do….

Chapter 1: Heritage and Home.

One day ago in the Land of Fire, a terrible disaster occurred. A colossal fox, the Kyuubi no Kitsune no Youkai, attacked Konoha, the country's city of shinobi. With a flick of its tails, it could shatter mountains, create tsunamis. It could decimate towns, cities, and do all that could make even the strongest man quake with fear. All but one man.

Shinobi fell to the ground left and right, dying either from fear of the creature, or from its actual attacks. A call sounded out for reinforcements, while shinobi desperately tried to hold on, until the Yondaime, their savior, could arrive.

Elsewhere, that very man was preparing himself for what he was about to do. His wife had just given birth to their child a few hours ago, dying in the process. In his arms, he held his son, Naruto. Looking down into his sons' cerulean blue eyes, he sighed, as he finished drawing the seals. Placing his son down, the tall, blonde-haired man kissed his son on the forehead, whispering "I love you" to the boy before walking out of the room.

Cutting his palm and performing five lightning fast hand seals, the man slammed his now bloodied hand into the ground, before rising 150 feet in the air. Shouting "Let's go!" To the toad boss, Gamabunta, upon whose head he now stood, the team quickly made their way in front of the nine-tailed demon lord. Gamabunta quickly drew his sword, and rushed in attempting to buy the Yondaime time, keeping the fox busy. However, the sword was re-directed by a tail back into Gamabunta's eye, as the toad quickly cried out in pain.

Regaining his composure, the toad rushed forward again, but this time dodged the tail, before stopping and grabbing onto the kitsune, burning his front feet. The Yondaime, at that moment, finished his seals and reached forward, the shadow of the Shinigami behind his movements. Reaching out with the death god's powers, the Yondaime grasped the soul of the giant kitsune demon, sealing it within his son and allowing himself to enter the death god's stomach, the price of using its powers.

Elsewhere, a crying baby boy was absorbing the Kyuubi's essence, his chakra coils adjusting to the massive wave of power that hit it just before the Kyuubi's soul became fully sealed. The process was horrifying for those nearby to watch, including only the Sandaime and an ANBU, killed for what he saw. Naruto was morphed by the Kyuubi, whisker marks appearing on his cheeks, his eyes turning red and slit as the essence of the demon was being sealed. Soon, his eyes reverted to normal, but the real question was how stable the young boy's mind would be… and whether or not the seal would hold.

The Sandaime just shook his head and sighed, dropping the ANBU he'd just killed and picking up the young Namikaze. He wouldn't be safe there, not until he could defend himself. Jumping from the window, the old Hokage shot a fireball into the room, incinerating all evidence of the ritual, and went off to find his student. The village would need to go without him for a day… Hopefully it would last.

(Next Day)

The Sandaime was off, in search of his white-haired student Jiraiya. Quickly arriving at Tanzaku city, he figured the best way to find him would be to search through every whore house in town. Arriving at the fourth brothel in town, a baby in his arms, the old man found him, and quickly dragged him out.

"Jiraiya, I need you to take care of him." The Hokage motioned to the baby, before attempting to hand him off to the man.

"You can't just come here and dump a kid on me! It's not even mine, I use protection!" he objected.

"I'm sure you know about the Kyuubi attack, that's why you're here, right?"

The white-haired man suddenly became serious, staring hard at the old man. "Yes, I was on my way back. I have some information for the Yondaime as well."

"The Yondaime is dead, as is Kushina. She died in childbirth. Only this boy remains of his legacy."

Jiraiya just stopped, staring at the man who was once his teacher and waiting for confirmation. Upon seeing the old man nod, he nearly broke down before calming himself, shedding a single tear for his lost student. Looking down at the child, he noticed the obvious similarities, then looked up again.

"This is… his kid?" he asked somewhat shakily.

The Sandaime nodded, before handing him over and saying softly "Uzumaki Naruto."

Jiraiya looked confused for a moment before a look of comprehension crossed his face, followed shortly by a wave of anger. "You mean Namikaze Naruto. I'm sure his father would have wanted safety for his children, but changing his name won't help that. He's a vessel and he'll be traveling with me, that's all the protection he'll need."

The Hokage was slightly taken aback by the biting edge his voice carried, but he quickly recovered himself. After all, It isn't a normal thing to see Jiraiya angry. He's usually giggling with perverted delight. "Sorry, you're right. He is Namikaze Naruto. I don't care where you take him, but I want him back in the village in 12 years. This is an official mission, SS-rank. Take him and train him, in 12 years I want him to be a capable ninja. Please… Don't tell him his heritage until he's ready to know… and don't make him perverted else I'll have Tsunade neuter you."

The last part of his speech was said in humor, breaking the ice in the conversation. Jiraiya simple nodded, and took the child before disappearing. The Old man just shed a few tears for Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime and the boy's father. He would've been a great father and trainer… 'Jiraiya'll take good care of him… please, just don't come back in 12 years as a pervert.' The man silently prayed before making his way back to Konoha. At least in Konoha they'll think the demon is dead… and the people can rebuild their lives.

(Six Years Later)

Naruto was sitting in front of Jiraiya. His hair was spiky, just like his father's, and his bright blue eyes shone. He was fidgeting slightly, since he never ran out of energy it seemed to be a habit he'd picked up. Twiddling his thumbs, the boy looked up, Jiraiya staring at him and thinking deeply. By this point, Naruto had figured when and when it was not okay to interrupt the man. This was, quite clearly, a 'do not interrupt' time.

In fact, Naruto had picked up a lot of things. Having traveled with his assumed father since birth, Naruto had learned quite a lot about the man. He was definitely smart, knowing lots of big words he was often asked to explain later. Naruto was a sucker for learning new words, liking to sound big and important, and he was often rewarded with candy whenever he said a particularly intelligent sentence, using the larger words correctly.

Naruto had also picked up a lot on body language, and knew that even at that moment he looked weak because he was fidgeting, but he couldn't help it. Jiraiya said he had something important to tell him, and Naruto was just itching to know what it was.

The blond-haired boy had also learned that Jiraiya was a ninja. Once, the man before him had formed a sparkly blue ball of an energy called 'chakra' which tossed a man back 50 feet, and it wasn't even complete! From that moment on, Naruto had decided he'd wanted to be a ninja. Since then, about two weeks ago, he'd asked his presumed father over and over if he'd show him how to use chakra… but until today was left unanswered. That is what Jiraiya was going to tell him, whether or not he;d train him to be a ninja… or so he thought.

In Jiraiya's mind, things were quite different. 'I'm glad he wants to be a ninja, that makes this so much easier… but he'd better know when he starts his training… no later or he'll freak when he finds out. And he's heard so much about him from me… he'll at least know he has potential… I'll have to tell him.'

Jiraiya looked down at the boy before him, trying to decide how to go about telling him. He studied the boy once over… again surprised by how much he'd grown. Having raised him from a mere baby, barely over a day old, he was surprised by how much he'd looked like his father… and his father's only remaining living student, an advent fan of his perverted books.

Naruto was wearing a black face mask to cover his whiskers, a faded gray T-shirt with a dark red spiral on the back. He also wore sandy tan cargo shorts that were just light enough to not clash with the outfit. They were a bit loose around the knees, just below which they stopped to allow good movement but were not short. His hair was long, spiky and hanging about an inch above the collar of his shirt. Naruto's eyes were shining, and looking up at Jiraiya, waiting for the answer.

Jiraiya just couldn't stall any longer… and decided to start, sighing, he sat down in front of Naruto. They were in a hotel out in rice country, and had the room to themselves, the futons next to each other in one room, the kitchen next door and the bathroom connected to the one they were in, also the lounge.

"Naruto… Did I ever tell you the name of my student?"

Naruto shook his head in the negative, and curiously wondered where Jiraiya was going with this. "Otou-san… what does that have to do with anything?" he asked, repressing the urge to yell it. He'd learned about a year ago that all his yelling and needless outrage were likely to get him killed one day, when an annoyed older Shinobi of the Mist threw a kunai at him, telling him not to be so loud. Jiraiya caught the kunai, but Naruto knew he wouldn't always be there. Heck, Naruto knew he couldn't possibly be related to the man, they looked nothing alike.

"My student became the Yondaime Hokage… the man who placed… IT inside you."

Suddenly, Naruto felt torn, because the man whom he'd grown to respect from Jiraiya's stories, was also the one who placed the burden on him. They'd already talked about the Kyuubi some, only the basics like the demon couldn't get out, it was slowly increasing his chakra reserves, and how it was sealed. He'd never talked to it, but occasionally, whenever Naruto saw a death that is, he'd feel a presence in the back of his mind.

"Also" Jiraiya continued. "His name was Namikaze Minato. He was your father."

At this, Naruto's hatred was suddenly gone. He no longer wondered why he'd been chosen to hold the Kyuubi. He knew from Jiraiya's stories and from how the sealing worked that his father couldn't and wouldn't have asked another person to give up their child. It made more sense now.

"Now knowing that… Do you still want to be a ninja?" Jiraiya said cautiously.

Naruto looked up, fire burning behind his eyes. "I will surpass my father… and do as he did. I will save the village he cared so much for… it's what he would want. For his legacy to carry on. I will protect the village he loved. Please… Otou-san… teach me."

And so the training began.

(Six years later… Training Montage!)

Naruto had spent the first two years learning non-chakra related information, such as theory and, more interesting, the writings of his father. Of course, he'd had to study a lot to figure out what the Hiraishin was, since even Jiraiya couldn't show him… and unfortunately Naruto still didn't get it. It has something to do with the kunai with the symbol on it forming an anchor, and sending a flash to it, converting yourself into light particles… whatever those were… for a long enough time to transport yourself with minimum chakra.

Naruto was actually quite adept at studying. When he was truly enthused at something, he actually managed to be pretty good at it. Anatomy and medicine was interesting, as were other sciences, but geology, math, and history were a bit hard. Except for the parts of history with war and famous techniques.. those Naruto had no problem with. His favorite was the story of the Kiroii Senko, the Yellow Flash of Konoha and the war between the fire country and stone country. It was recent, so the legend still and variations, but truly the Yondaime had been a man to be feared.

During the next year, Naruto unlocked his chakra and did physical training, using weights to increase his strength faster. He silently blessed the fox every time a torn muscle was healed quickly, allowing him to continue training. Needless to say. He heard a few unsettling chuckles every once in a while, but not much else. He finished the year off with 20 pounds on each limb, determined to add 2 pounds a month to each limb from then until he went to Konoha. However, little else was accomplished other than the physical training and learning how to use chakra.

In the fourth year of training, Naruto learned the three basic academy jutsus… and was given the first of his father's scrolls. However, if Jiraiya knew how much that scroll would've changed Naruto, he may not have given it to him.

_The key to being a good ninja, is chakra control. More ninjas die of kunai than anything else because they either mess up a technique, or the other person has more stamina. However, every human being has a limit to the chakra that they can have. I think I'll have reached the maximum by the age of thirty. Therefore, I stress to whoever reads this that controlling chakra is the most important aspect for any ninja. A master of control could outlast any other ninja, assuming he or she has at least chuunin level reserves, because a well timed kage bunshin and kawarimi can kill any ninja._

At this, Naruto was slightly saddened that his father never reached the age of thirty, but was also curious about this kage bunshin technique. It sounded like you could switch places with it… but that would require it to be more than just an illusion. Naruto quickly learned the move from Jiraiya, but found he didn't have the chakra to make that many… using what looked to be 10 times the chakra Jiraiya used to make one….

Reading onwards in the scroll, Naruto soon found his path to 'beating' his father.

_Chakra control of the highest levels can convert it into elements… The Nidaime could pull water from the air with chakra, but for the most part he was actually just creating strings of water to guide the rest of the water hack to his hands. Some of the more experienced Uchiha can even make fire appear without even hand seals, since their control can be better controlled._

Naruto was stumbled slightly over the word 'Uchiha'. He'd heard about the massacre, and it was off hearing the name again, but Naruto continued on.

_My original attack, the rasengan, requires chakra of the highest level as well, as it is a shape manipulation. Also, Hyuugas need perfect control. If you are of any major clan of Konoha, my advice to you is to perfect your control… it is the most valuable aspect of any shinobi. Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage._

In the fifth and sixth year of training… Naruto followed the advice. The scroll had a list of exercises that would help improve chakra control. Naruto found it hard… getting gradually harder to control as his reserves increased, but he was diligent about it. Naruto learned a few C and B rank jutsus along with his chakra control training, but Jiraiya was really more busy with work than with helping Naruto train. This did not mean he didn't get better though. Once, a truly dumbfounded Jiraiya walked into the clearing they were staying in after Naruto had been training for only 8 months, and Jiraiya found him on one hand balancing above the sharp end of a kunai… a weapon that Naruto got very sued to using. That and shuriken, Naruto seemed to have a natural affinity for weaponry… if that were his specialty he may have surpassed even the Ikeitanas (Tenten's family) in kenjutsu…. But he did not pursue it.

After a year and a half of training with control, Naruto discovered that his Kage Bunshin could help him train as well, and Naruto decided to get more help. Jiraiya had just returned from a long information gathering…. research trip, leaving Naruto in the woods on the border of Wind and Fire country. For the last six months of Naruto's training, he developed his fighting style and learned the Rasengan along with a few other elemental jutsus… while finishing his chakra control regiment, reducing it for what would become normal life in the coming days.

After 12 long years, Naruto finally returned to the village his father had cherished so much. Seeing ninjas at the front gate, he expected them to hate him for the Kyuubi, knowing that they would know about it, but instead was greeted by happy smiles, for both him and Jiraiya. Not even a trace of anger. Wondering why it had happened that way, Naruto thought back to the conversation he'd had with Jiraiya the day before.

(Flashback no Jutsu)

"Naruto" Jiraiya began. "You know some people know that the Kyuubi was sealed… right?"

Naruto nodded his head. He'd been expecting this.

"Well… they were told the contained died on the day after the attack by the Sandaime. As long as you don't tell anyone no one will know… I suggest you keep it to yourself. Unfortunately, once we get back I will have to leave… I'm sorry Naruto, but you can live on your own now… I am still needed as a scout for Konoha."

Naruto was breaking down, tears flowing from his eyes. In the past years he'd come to think of the man as more of an uncle or grandfather than a father, knowing who his real father was. The man had been a less important part of Naruto's life as of six years ago… but he was still his only truly precious person… one Naruto valued deeply. Jumping over to Jiraiya, he hugged him, crying for a good 30 minutes before calming himself and drifting off to sleep

(Flashback KAI!)

Naruto took out the key Jiraiya had slipped into his pocket, and the address written on the card that came with it. The apartment he was being given was apparently right near the Hokage tower. From what Jiraiya said, it was once the Yondaime's, and in it were various places for Naruto to seal the Yondaime's scrolls with blood seals, as they were now rightfully his.

Jiraiya waved goodbye, before vanishing to give his report. Naruto shed a tear, but hurriedly wiped it away before continuing on. He would be seeing much of the old pervert for a while… but it was okay. Naruto would survive…

Heading off in the direction of the apartment, Naruto took off at a stroll. Walking along, he looked in various booths that were being set up. It was the 10th of October, Naruto's birthday, and it looked as though the populace was setting up for a festival. Naruto caught sight of a banner that said 'Yondaime Special, 4.99' and Naruto remembered what Jiraiya had said about his heritage. He wasn't to tell anyone he was related to the Yondaime, or that he was even born in Konoha. He was supposedly an orphan from Wind country, found and trained by the Sannin out of generosity. However, anyone that personally knew the Sannin would probably have doubted that, but those that knew him personally in the village included only two people, the Sandaime and Kakashi.

However, Naruto was too lost in his thoughts to notice the girl walking towards him… another girl in two while they yelled at each other. THUMP.

Naruto almost fell down, but on instinct used chakra from his hands to repel the ground, pushing himself upright. He saw the girl falling as though in slow motion, but that was just because Naruto was used to seeing movements at a much higher rate. Putting a small amount of concentrated chakra into his legs, Naruto sprinted forward and caught the girl in his arms before setting her upright. Standing in front of her, he bowed to show respect, as he'd been taught when meeting someone 'formally' and said politely "Gomen. I didn't mean to run into you, I was lost in thought."

However, the girl was still slightly dazed, both from the sudden rush of being hit in the head and from the strange politeness of the boy in front of her.

"Who are you?" The blond haired girl asked. She was actually quite pretty, her platinum blond hair a little lighter than Naruto's own golden locks. She was wearing a purple dress and had a forehead protector wrapped around her waist.

"Ah, excuse me. I am…" Naruto remembered that he also wasn't supposed to refer to himself as a Namikaze, as people would recognize the name. Taking his mother's name, Naruto continued. "I am Uzumaki Naruto. Are you a ninja?"

"Yes actually." She said smugly, before turning to her pretty pink-haired friend in the red dress. "See Sakura? I at least look like one."

Sakura, not one to be put down so easily, responded in turn. "Ino-pig, you may look like one, but Sasuke-kun likes elegant girls, not pig-girls like you. Neh, I look like a ninja too, right?"

In Naruto's mind, neither of them really looked like ninjas, him having seen several deaths and knowing that in that bright red dress or with that platinum blond or pink hair they would probably die since they were really just big targets. However, he didn't say as much because he really just wanted to make friends, and these were the first girls he'd ever met his age, unlike those twenty year olds Jiraiya had tried to get him to 'have fun' with.

"I suppose you do… I mean, you have a forehead protector. I have to ask though… is that pink hair natural?" Naruto said, a quizzical look on his face.

"BAKA!" The girl, Sakura, said bashing him on the head. Naruto made a quick shield of chakra concentrated and thickened on that area, an easy task for him with his control. There was a cracking sound and Sakura brought her hand back, as she yelled about hit hurting. Ino was confused… having not seen the chakra shield… nor had Sakura for that matter, and she was wondering how the boy in front of them had just avoided being hit. However, she didn't get the chance to ask as he was no longer in front of her, he was taking Sakura's hand in his own, green chakra flowing from his hand into hers. In a few moments, Sakura stopped yelling and looked down at her hand to find it perfectly fine.

She looked up at Naruto in disbelief, before stating the obvious. "You're a ninja too, aren't you?"

However, she was surprised by his answer. "Actually, no. I am scheduled by the Hokage to take the academy exam later today, after I unpack from my trip, and then I am to join a genin squad. Apparently one of the teams is a little short-handed."

"Ah, so then you're my team-mate." Ino said "I'm on the team with only two people. So wait, unpack? Where are you from?"

Naruto shifted uneasily, body language Ino saw but ignored, curious as to where the boy came from. "Uhh… before I tell you, may I ask who you are?" Naruto said, nodding to her.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Yamanaka Ino… where are you looking?" She had seen his gaze shift over her, making her feel a bit uncomfortable, but he ignored it. Looking up he shook his head and grinned.

"Nowhere in particular. You're very pretty you know that? You too Sakura." Naruto said as he gave them both an eye-smile, as his eyes became upside-down U's, since they couldn't see his face anyway due to his mask.

Both girls blushed slightly at the comment, before continuing the conversation. "I'm actually from Suna… I was an orphan but I was found by a Konoha ninja who helped me train for the past few years."

They both gave him questioning looks, but when he didn't continue they just gave up, looking slightly exasperated. "So, what'd you train in?" Sakura asked, wanting to know how he'd managed to stop her fist.

'I don't suppose it could hurt to tell them.' Naruto thought, before responding. "I've been training in physical strength for six years, chakra control for 4 years, and I know a fair amount of jutsu. Really, I'm just chakra control fanatic." At the last comment Naruto gave them another eye-smile, while both of them stood, trying to regain their bearings.

"Wow" Sakura got out, before shaking her head. "Yeah, well, I graduated in the top of the class from the academy" Sakura said, trying to look good. Naruto could swear he heard Ino whisper "In book-smarts only" but he wasn't sure, so he decided to try his luck.

"Really? Cool… Well, I haven't sparred anyone in a long time, wanna go fight somewhere?" Naruto questioned anxiously. Sakura looked uneasy for a second before regaining her resolve and answered in the affirmative. They set off for a nearby training ground, arriving in about 10 minutes. Once there, They both took a stance, Ino acting as the referee.

"Hajime!" She called, starting the match,

Naruto just stood perfectly still, hands in the pockets of his cargo shorts. Sakura, in her measly kenpo stance, decided to take the offensive and charge. She lashed out with a punch, but instantly regretted it. Her fist slammed into some sort of shield the boy, Naruto, had made seemingly with just chakra. She heard a crack and saw she had probably fractured a finger, but she didn't quit. Jumping back, she pulled out a kunai and threw it straight at him. She was getting worried when he brought up his hand and didn't move. However, Naruto simple created another shield of chakra, this time a little weaker than before but at an angle so that the kunai just got deflected to the side.

In his head, Naruto was simply thinking 'How did Jiraiya get powerful here? I've barely used any chakra and she looks winded already. Man, I really owe Jiraiya and dad a lot, don't I?'

Naruto began walking towards Sakura, as she continued to jump around the field, throwing kunai and shuriken only to have them bounce off. She went in for another punch, but this time he dodged her, and put his hand up in front of her shoulder, just inches away. Creating another shield of chakra in front of his hand, he had it pulse outwards, releasing the chakra and blasting her away, only to skid on the ground and stop moving about 20 feet away.

Ino was awestruck at this boy who seemed to fight with just chakra… no hand seals, no taijutsu, no genjutsu or kenjutsu, just plain chakra manipulation. She quickly rushed over to her friend, but was beten by the blond haired boy who was already at Sakura's side, saying "Good match" and other comforting words while pumping that green chakra into her shoulder and hand. Moments later, Sakura was just sore, but was nonetheless amazed.

"Well Ino, looks like you have at least one competent ninja on your team. Him, that fat guy, and you. What a team." Sakura said sarcastically, still sore and slightly annoyed. She tried to bop Naruto on the head again, but instead it felt as if she hit a cushion… an odd sensation.

Naruto dispelled the cushion of Chakra he'd made to counter her punch and helped her up off the ground. Waving goodbye to the pair, he made his way to the apartment. Hey, he may even go out and see the festival today.

(At The Apartment)

Arriving quickly, he found the apartment in perfect working order. After finding out what his rent was, he took some of what he'd gotten on the two S-rank missions he'd gone on with the Sannin, and paid the manager in advance, greatly pleasing him.

Entering the apartment, Naruto found it quite well furnished. Taking out his scrolls, Naruto remembered when he'd first learned sealing and began thinking he should learn more about it, at least enough to be able to do Hiraishin, but for now he just knew storage seals. All he really needed. Unsealing his clothing, he put it in the closet. Then, taking out other personal items, he decorated his new apartment. It was rather cozy, with just one bathroom, a living room, a kitchen, and a bedroom, but it was more comfortable than what he'd had the rest of his life, so Naruto was happy with it.

After settling in, Naruto opened up the door, walked out, and locked it behind him, before putting the keys back into his pockets. Making the two minute trip to the Hokage's office, he politely greeted the guards and asked to see the Hokage, but was refused because he was so young. Walking back out of the building, he hid around the corner and activated an advanced form of henge with chakra concentrated but hidden so that he could take on the appearance of Jiraiya. Moving back into the office, he ignored the guards completely, as he'd seen the Sannin do to most guards, before entering the office, closing the door behind him, Naruto quickly found himself being attacked. Performing a Kage Bunshin, he placed it in front of himself to take the hit, simultaneously using kawarimi with a chair to block the door and to hide himself. Coming out from his hiding spot, he looked at the Hokage and with a smile said:

"Well, Ojji-san, did I pass?"

"With flying colors" the Hokage said sagely. "Jiraiya said you're about chuunin level, but your chakra control is that of a jounin or better. He says it's probably about as good as an ANBU's. Seems he was right, you didn't need to use hand seals or even flare chakra for any of those moves. For that I applaud your control. However, he said you do have your flaws. I suggest when you begin working with your team that you learn to deal with ranged chakra attacks."

In Naruto's mind, he was happy with the praise, but sad that the Hokage knew his weakness. Now he was at a disadvantage if he ever had to fight the man, which hopefully would never have to happen.

"I will. What team am I on?"

"Team 10. Your sensei is my son, and yes he knows that you're the container. Only he, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and I know what you are, so you have nothing to worry about. Your team mates are Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Chouji, two fairly respectable students."

"I know" Naruto responded. "I met Ino earlier today. She's… nice?" Naruto said, as more of a question than anything else.

The Hokage snorted, but passed Naruto his team specs. "Meet them at training ground 14 tomorrow at 8 AM, you have to complete the genin test with your team."

"Thanks Ojji-san. And thank you for the apartment. I never thought a vessel could be treated like this." Naruto said, shuddering as he though back to his encounter with Gaara 4 years ago in Suna. Jiraiya had been there to get information from a spy and Naruto wandered off. He saw a boy get someone else a ball, but they called him a demon and left him all alone on the swing set. Naruto tried to go play with him, but when he reached out a wall of sand came up and blocked it before lashing out. Jiraiya grabbed Naruto and shunshined out, before explaining to Naruto that not all vessels were like him.

"No problem Naruto." The old Hokage said, before turning back to his paperwork. Naruto left out the window, and quickly made it back to his apartment, thinking to himself 'survival test tomorrow, eh?'

Arriving back, Naruto was about to unlock the door when he stopped. Checking his wallet, he decided to go out to the festival for a few hours first, maybe meet a few people.

(At The Festival)

The festival was full of people, all drinking or playing games, or eating, or even dancing. Naruto had learned how to dance from Jiraiya, who said it was important for fitting into the high class world on infiltration missions. Naruto was unconvinced, but eventually Jiraiya took him on an S-rank mission that required just that, it required Jiraiya to guard the Fire Daimyo and thus serve as an escort for another person there, staying near the Daimyo. Jiraiya caught the assassin on the dance floor, casually trying to stick a needle into the Daimyo while he danced with his enormous wife. Jiraiya led his partner over discreetly and stopped the assassin without ever drawing attention. This mission actually convinced Nartuo of a lot, including the fact that any skill one may have may very well save a life in a mission.

Thus, Naruto stood on the edge of the dance floor, just looking around. He spotted Ino and found himself staring at her as he'd done earlier, just more intricately. Yes, Jiraiya was a super pervert, and unfortunately living around him for 12 years made Naruto into one as well.

Naruto, noticing the form of Ino moving towards him, looked down into his drink so as to not be caught staring at her body, however developed it was for a 12 year old. Soon Ino was standing in front of him with a blush on her face.

"I just wanted to thank you for catching me earlier today." She said quietly, almost a whisper. She was clearly blushing, but her head was lowered so it was less visible. She turned to leave, but Naruto saw his chance and grabbed her hand.

"It was no problem, honestly. Care to dance?"

It was at this moment that Naruto looked up and made eye contact, before Ino turned and looked behind her. Naruto looked behind her as well and saw Sakura staring at the two of them. Ino turned back to him, and squeezed his hand for a moment.

"Uh, actually, I should probably get back to Sakura, I told her I'd go play that shuriken game with her."

"Oh." Naruto said rather inelegantly. He let go of her hand and looked down, then back up with a clearly fake smile that didn't even show in his eyes, the lower half of his face not visible. "Okay, sure."

Ino looked up guiltily for a moment, before bowing her head a bit and asking "Would you like to join us? I mean, if you think you can keep up."

The last part was clearly a taunt, and Naruto was not one to back down. Even if he was less loud, he still didn't like shots at his pride. Deciding to make the most out of it, he nodded his head yes and said "sure" one more, before following her to the booth.

The game was quite clearly for ninjas only, with tiny targets moving around on wires attached to engines. When you played, you had to choose a speed, and it adjusted the score. There were 10 moving targets in all. On slow, each was worth 1 point, on medium each target was worth 2 points, and on hard each was worth three. Sakura went first, on slow, and got all 10, earning herself a teddy bear.

As Ino was about to start, Naruto held out a hand to stop her. "I'll make a bet with you."

"eh?" Ino said, confused.

"If I beat you, you have to let me dance with you." Naruto said smugly, smiling demurely beneath his mask.

Ino looked at him curiously, then smiled deviously. "And If I win?"

"I dunno, what do you want?" Naruto said, not really caring.

"You have to kiss Sasuke-kun on the lip and get us a picture of it, which means you have to show us your face too."

Sakura suddenly got an evil smile as well. Sasuke had already lost his first kiss to Kiba, which was as gross as the dog boy himself, but even Sakura had to admit, this Naruto guy was hot. If he as handsome as his body was ripped, he'd almost rival Sasuke-kun. Just the thought of them kissing got Sakura a little excited.

"Nice one Ino!" Sakura said, slapping her blond friend's hand for a high five. Naruto just shrugged and said "Okay."

Ino almost swooned at the thought. "And you have to do it shirtless." Ino tagged on. Naruto just shrugged again. By this point, several other fangirls had crowded around and were discussing the bet, cheering Ino on.

"Go ahead. Dozo." Naruto said, waving his hand for her to go. Ino got it set on medium, and hit all but one giving her a score of 18. She too got a teddy bear, then looked to Naruto, giving him a look that basically meant 'Beat That'.

Naruto, however, was curious. Was Sasuke a girl? Was she hot? Wold he want to kiss her? He decided to ask, just in case. "So, is Sasuke a girl or a guy?"

This started the chatter all the more, until Ino explained he'd just moved to Konoha, and all the girls settled in understanding. "He's a guy."

Suddenly they felt the temperature drop. Naruto did NOT want his first kiss to be with a guy. "Does it matter when I do it?" Naruto said apprehensively.

Sakura sensed he was uncomfortable with it, and began thinking about why, before coming to a conclusion. "It'll be your first kiss, won't it?" Sakura teased.

Naruto shuddered before nodding his head. Suddenly, the girls were laughing, most likely at him Naruto concluded. 'At least they think I'm hot.' Naruto thought to himself.

Shaking his head, he cleared it before concentrating. "Since I could be getting kissed this way, and you added something onto your bet, I get to add something to my end, right?"

Ino was already confident she would win, so she just nodded her head in the affirmative. However, she soon wished she hadn't.

"If I win, not only do you have to dance with me, but right after I win you have to kiss me." Naruto said, confident he would win.

The reaction from the girls other than Ino was just one long "Oooooooh" while Ino blushed terribly. Naruto told the guy in the booth who had been listening the whole time to turn it up to hard. The targets became a blur, and the girls wondered what he was doing. Only chuunin and jounin could do that level of difficulty, usually.

Naruto quickly threw out the 10 shuriken, hitting 7, getting a score of 21. By this point, a crowd had gathered, and had all heard the bet. They were looking at Ino expectantly, who shuffled up nervously and instead of finding his lips pecked him on the cheek. The crowd "Awwwww'd' and Naruto took her hand, leading her to the dance floor as a slow song started, ignoring the look Sakura had at him hitting seven of 10 chuunin to jounin level targets.

Taking Ino's hand in his own, he put his other hand around her waist, and was about to direct her to the same when he found she'd already done it. Apparently these girls could dance too. Expertly leading her on the dance floor, Ino was quite surprised that he could actually dance, as in the academy only girls learned it. This Naruto guy was getting more and more interesting.

Soon, however, the song finished and they abandoned the floor, only to see Sakura tapping her foot expectantly while three other girls looked at her with jealousy in their eyes. Naruto just led her off the platform and handed her off to Sakura before heading over to a ramen stand.

'Ramen… interesting.' Naruto thought, before ordering a bowl of miso pork ramen. Tasting it, he soon scarfed it down, it being gone in seconds, without the owners ever seeing beneath the mask. He soon ordered two more bowls, getting them down just as fast. They'd only seen one other person eat that fast and that was Kakashi… The similarity was weird.

Naruto actually finished a total of 7 bowls by the time he left, only 10 minutes later having taken a break after the first three and the fourth and fifth to let it get down. Finding himself full, Naruto pondered his team mate Ino while walking home. He was lucky to have her on his team, she was a fun girl. Not too bad with shuriken either. Naruto then realized he'd forgotten his prize, and was about to go back and get it when he realized he'd already gotten his prize, rubbing his cheek.

Arriving at his apartment, Naruto found it was already 11 PM, and just plopped down on his bed, setting his alarm for 7 AM. Tomorrow would be a busy day.

End Chapter

Hey all. I hope you liked the chapter. Yes, the theme I'm expanding on will be chakra control, as we almost see nothing of true manipulation other than the Hyuuga's use of it and the rasengan. It is under-used. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this, I plan on putting updates up pretty often.


	2. Chapter 2

Uzumaki Naruto: Forge Your Own Way

Hi everyone! Well, I've received some good positive support for this fic, and I decided that I really do like it, even if I haven't planned out the plot very far ahead. Anyway, please enjoy the fic, but remember updates will be slow while I figure out stuff in my head.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its contents. If I did, I'd get paid for this, dream job… 'Sigh'

Chapter 2: Who Are You? What Are You?

Uzumaki Naruto slammed his hand down on his alarm clock, ending its blaring siren which had been assaulting his ears for the past five minutes while he tried to ignore it. It was early, his team was meeting at 8 and it was only 6:30, but then, Naruto liked to get an early start on anything important.

Sitting up in bed, Naruto began his mandatory 30 minute meditation, useful for concentrating on chakra, making sure everything worked. Something Naruto would find out later would be his chakra coils were as strong and stream-lined as a Hokage's, thanks to the Kyuubi. This is what required him to meditate to control it better later in the day.

Pulling off his clothes, Naruto moved over to the bathroom and took a shower. While in the shower he went over various techniques he could use, but mostly just thought about Ino. It was odd how a girl he'd just met yesterday could affect his thoughts so much. I mean, heck, she hadn't even kissed his face, just his mask. Still, she was very pretty, and he was on his team. Perverted thoughts started swirling around in his head before he realized that he'd been in the shower plenty long and turned it off.

Stepping out of the shower, Naruto dried off, before picking out his clothing for the day. A black T-shirt with a dark green silk long-sleeved shirt over it, helpful for removing shuriken that could get stuck in him. Along with black ninja pants and a pair of gray combat boots, Naruto was all set to go. Strapping on his kunai holder, shuriken holder, and equipment pouch, Naruto skipped over to the kitchen. One quick breakfast later and Naruto was out the door, locking it behind himself.

Naruto arrived at the training ground 15 minutes early to see Ino waiting already, leaning against a tree and flipping a kunai to herself. Walking up next to her, he noticed she seemed to be lost in thought while flipping the kunai… definitely not a safe thing to be doing. Grabbing it out of mid-air, Ino was surprised by the lack of kunai in her hand and broke from her thoughts… looking to her right to see Naruto with the kunai in his hand.

"You shouldn't get lost in thought while flipping a kunai around… what were you thinking about anyway?" Naruto said with concern.

"Oh… uh… nothing." Ino replied, blushing slightly. She had been thinking about last night, but she wouldn't honestly admit it to the boy. For the first time ever since the academy, she'd had a moment where she wasn't a Sasuke fangirl… she'd been focused on him.

"Erm… okay." Naruto said, shrugging off the obvious lie. She'd been thinking something, but if she didn't want to share it that was her business.

There were about 10 minutes of silence before Chouji showed up, looking curiously at Naruto. "Who are you?" he questioned, mildly confused.

"Your third team member, Uzumaki Naruto. Pleasure to meet you." He responded with surprising politeness. Chouji just tilted his head to the side, before shrugging and popping open a bag of chips. Then, holding out a chip, Naruto accepted it, eating faster than Chouji thought was possible. Holding out his hand, the genin-to-be held out his hand to the blond-haired boy.

"Uh, yeah. I'm Akimichi Chouji… nice to meet you?" The last bit was spoken as a question, but the comment went unanswered. They waited another three minutes before their sensei, Asuma, showed up.

"Well, Chouji, Ino, and Naruto. I met the two of you yesterday" he pointed to Ino and Chouji "And I know enough about you" pointing to Naruto "to get by. So, let's get started on that test. All you need to do is get these bells from me." He said, pulling out two.

"Anyone who doesn't get a bell by noon gets sent back to the academy. Good luck, and begin" he finished.

Quickly the three ninja darted away, chouji behind a big rock, Ino in a tree, and Naruto… 'Where is Naruto' Asuma thought briefly.

In reality, Naruto had never moved, he was in the same spot as before, he just made hand seals behind his back and used a camouflage jutsu, using his chakra to deflect light away from himself, creating a tiny black dot on the ground where Naruto was, which was fortunately covered in the shadow of a leaf right next to himself. Suppressing his chakra signature simultaneously, Naruto smoothly walked up to Asuma who was standing in the clearing, still looking bored but slightly confused.

'No genin should be able to hide his chakra that well… guess I need to take that guy more seriously' Asuma thought to himself.

Taking out his trench knives, he heard a jingling, and looked down to see the bells gone… well… not where they were supposed to be. They were floating in mid-air for a moment, before they disappeared. Elsewhere, Chouji and Ino felt something on their belts and looked down to see the bells. Both awestruck, walked out into the clearing… Naruto somehow appearing next to them.

"Well, Sensei, do we pass?" Naruto asked.

Asuma hid his astonishment and smiled, then nodded. Motioning for them to sit down, the three genin did so, sitting in a semi-circle across from their sensei.

"So then, Naruto, what was the point of this? I'm guessing you know."

Naruto nodded, then quickly explained: "It was about teamwork. I've worked with Jiraiya as a team mate for a little while… he said his student's student once told him something that forever stuck with him, something he'd once said himself. 'Those who don't follow the rules are trash, those that don't help their comrades are lower than trash.' Sensei, the point of this exercise was teamwork, and putting your team mates lives over your own and the objectives… right?"

"You are correct… All of you should know this… On every mission there is danger, and someone can die. To do the mission instead of saving a comrade is unforgivable, no mission is worth a life if it can be saved. You are now watching out for each other's lives… do it with honor." Asuma said, before poofing away.

(Jounin Lounge)

Asuma popped in, a few other jounin senseis already there.

"You fail your team too, Asuma-san?" A nameless jounin asked, lazily waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. "I failed mine in 10 minutes, no skill whatsoever. They'll be on the genin reserve list I guess"

"Uhhh… actually… they passed." Asuma responded, rubbing his head sheepishly.

Suddenly every jounin in the room had their eyes on him. "They passed in less than half an hour?! How?!"

"It was the bell test… they just had one person very, very good." Asuma said.

"The bell test… in under half an hour. Who was this kid?" a random jounin asked.

"The new kid… Uzumaki Naruto. The one Jiraiya brought from out of town. He looks more promising than even that Uchiha kid." Asuma commented, much to a few jounins' surprise.

Murmurs of what the kid could become began to spread throughout the room as Asuma described how the test had gone. Soon, even Hatake Kakashi was intrigued, and with his lazy demeanor that was quite a feat.

(Back at the field)

Chouji had gone home, muttering a thanks to Naruto on his way. Meanwhile, Naruto accepted the greeting, then began to meditate, paying no heed to Ino. After all, training first, pervertedness later… unless he could get one of his old sensei's books….

Expecting Ino to leave soon, Naruto began his meditation, pulsing the chakra around himself. Soon, he could no longer feel her chakra signature, and with his eyes closed didn't see her. Sitting cross legged on the ground, he quickly began pulsing the chakra out of his lower body, creating force. More and more, pushing at the ground. Naruto began to sweat from the concentration… it was always hard to get this even close to correct.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Naruto began to rise off the ground, the force of the chakra creating an equal with the force of gravity, reaching equilibrium at 1 foot off the ground. Unfortunately, this was when he heard a gasp.

Opening his eyes, Naruto lost his concentration, plummeting to the ground with a small, low-pitched 'oof'. Looking around, he spotted Ino, and noticed that his chakra flow must have been great enough to mask her chakra signature from him….

Ino was just staring at him. She'd begun walking away, but then she felt chakra. She turned and saw Naruto, eyes closed, chakra VISIBLY pulsing around him, something that shouldn't even be possible. Then, ever so slowly, Naruto began rising off the ground. When he reached about a foot off the ground, Ino regained her breath enough to gasp, breaking his concentration.

Looking up, Naruto saw Ino standing over him, an awed expression on her face. "Something I can do for you, Ino-chan?" Naruto said nicely, though unhappy at being interrupted.

Always the blunt one, Ino pushed forward her demands. "Yes, actually. Number one, I want you to tell me what the heck that was, and number two, I want you to show me how to get stronger… It doesn't take a genius to figure out you got the bells and gave them to us…"

Naruto was quiet for a moment, but then began talking as Ino began twitching with anger at not being answered.

"Well… I was meditating to improve my chakra control…. And as for the second bit, well, I'd have to know your weakness to help you." Naruto said calmly, though inside his loud former self was yelling at the top of its lungs **"I was practicing you dunce!"**.

"Well… I don't know much ninjutsu, just a few family ones. My taijutsu was pretty good in the academy, and my genjutsu was okay. I have pretty decent control, but I don't have great stamina. What do you think I should work on?"

She looked a little unsure of herself, which Naruto noticed right off the bat, but did not mention. "All I can really help you with is stamina, speed, and control. I only know a few genjutsu, almost no ninjutsu, and my taijutsu style you wouldn't be able to use."

"What do you mean 'style'? I mean, I know what they are, but what's yours?" Ino asked, looking for information.

"My style is forbidden to any but myself and possibly Tsunade of the Sannin. It requires beyond perfect chakra control and gigantic chakra reserves… That is all you need to know." Naruto said curtly. His taijutsu style was a guarded secret… he'd never tell anyone if he could avoid it… as it was his own, no one elses.

Then, softening, Naruto looked over Ino again briefly. She really was quite pretty. 'Well, I suppose I should help her… maybe to get a kiss though.' Naruto thought, filling his mind with perverted thoughts and giggling a little.

"Okay, I will help you." Ino's face lit up a little. "But only for something in return." Naruto said, and Ino suddenly looked anxious.

"What is it?" Ino said, not looking for ward to what it could be.

"I will train with you and teach you some of my techniques if, at the end of the week, you kiss me. On the lips." Naruto said. He'd expected her to slap him, but instead saw her blush deeply. Hey, he was blushing too.

"Alright" Ino agreed, nodding her head at the same time. "Let's get started."

"Okaaaaaay" Naruto drawled out, before taking up some chakra weights. 'Oh, this will be fun.' Naruto thought, before starting Ino on weight training and laps.

Ino already knew it would be a long week… with a great finish.

(Next Day)

Having finished a few cruddy D-ranked missions, the team split up. Chouji went off to get some Barbeque with Asuma, while Naruto went off to train… Ino left alone. Slowly, she dropped to the ground, sitting cross-legged, and began what Naruto had taught her earlier that day during the mission… meditation.

Going through the steps, she attempted to calm herself, but insider her emotions were still swirling around. Finding that she needed help, she leapt off in search of Naruto… soon finding him at a training grounds.

However, she did not introduce herself, or even allow her presence to be known. In the underbrush just at the edge of the clearing, Ino could see the destruction of the training grounds, in what must have been less than a minute's work. In the center of it all was Naruto… who was meditating.

The clearing was covered in craters, all quite cleanly made, perfectly round, and all exactly the same size. They were scattered, but if one were to look at them from the view of a bird, one would see that they actually formed a shape… the shape of nine tails, wrapped around a center point…. Where Naruto was sitting.

Ino, remembering what Naruto had said about meditation, decided to interrupt him before he got in too deep, and walked up next to him. Only once she was sitting in front of him, cross-legged as he was, did he open his eyes.

"Having trouble Ino-chan?" Naruto asked. Ino blushed at the suffix, but let his comment go. What was wrong with being a '–chan', she actually rather liked it.

"A little… can you help me?" Ino said tentatively.

"What kind of team mate would I be if I didn't help you?" Naruto said with a small smile. "Now just relax, I'll bring you through it."

"Close your eyes…". Ino did so, as he began.

"Now, steady out your breathing… In… Out… hear me? In and out, and in, and out, slowly. Now, with me, lower your hands, touch them to each other…"

She did as told, and for some reason decided to make the Ram seal… some unknown reason, but it was there.

"Feel the softness… feel the texture. It is soft, very soft. The calmness around you.. there is nothing else but you and my voice. No sound but my voice, no touch but your hands… When you shudder, the world shudders. You are life and you are death. Feel the emotion, only the calm, there is no fear or hatred, only that which lives. Feel it… live it… and connect. Connect with my voice…. _Connect"_

The last word was not a sound but rather, felt like it. Instead, it was a thought… voiced in her head, which sounded like Naruto's voice.

'_connect, connect, connect, connect, connect…this is our link, our bond…well done _Ino.'

She slowly opened her eyes to see Naruto sitting before her. It was now a little darker out… about an hour had gone by. "If you have any questions on tree-walking or weights, ask me through that little bond. See you later Ino."

It was only then that Ino noticed she was walking away from him, the 10 pound weights she got on each ankle from Naruto earlier that day were slowing her down, but she still moved away. Considering this new handy means of communication, Ino silently thanked Naruto in her mind, not realizing that Naruto had left his end open to her, so he could still hear her, and went off to climb trees with just her feet… for the next week as she steadily increased her weights.

Naruto just smiled at the '-kun' added to his name in Ino's silent thanks, then went back to his containment ritual… After all, however powerful a person must be, they must still take care of their faults.

(Six Days Later)

In the Hokage's Office, Team 10 stood with their sensei, who had currently asked for a C-ranked mission… much to the team's surprise. They had only been passed a week ago, and though they had more completed D-ranks than even Team 7, theirs being 28 complete while Team 7 had 26, Chouji and Ino didn't believe themselves ready for a higher rank mission.

The Hokage was the first to respond to the request. "Your team has only been active a week, they're all fresh from the academy, what makes you think they'd be ready for a higher ranked mission so soon?"

"Hokage-sama" The words stung, Asuma never called him father anymore, "Naruto and Ino have both trained and I believe they are ready. As for Chouji, he has improved greatly with his father's help, even with such a short amount of time, I believe he is ready as well."

"Very well" the old man said sagely. "I will permit it, but you all be cautious. If it is too difficult I demand an immediate retreat, no exceptions. This village cannot stand to lose good ninja."

Asuma winked at Iruka who held a pissed off expression. Just a week earlier he'd witnessed Ino squealing like a little girl, and now she was going on C-ranks missions.. 'What's next?' he mentally sighed.

"We will leave in 2 hours from the west gate, meet me there." Asuma quickly told the team. They filed out quickly to get home… and that was when it started.

(Outside the Hokage Tower)

Ino and Chouji split up at his house, Naruto just following Ino as he always had. Her house was in direction of his new apartment, so he figured he could just follow her for a short while. However, this was not what was on his mind. Rather, it was the posterior of the girl before him which caught his eye.

For the past week, Naruto had trained Ino. Making her run laps and do physical exercises with weights on, as well as helping her with chakra control, he'd gotten to know a lot about how her body worked. So much so that he could now read most of her movements… at least all the ones that meant something bad for anyone nearby. Having trained alongside her, but with much more considerable weight than the mere 10 pound ones Ino now had, he had seen much of her body… and after living with a pervert for his time growing up… well… Naruto was one to pick up habits.

Seeing her swaying hips and thinking about mischievous things he could do to her, he failed to notice her turning around before he walked into her, the perverted grin still plastered on his face.

"And what exactly were you looking at?" Ino asked, outraged. Of course, she wasn't so much angry as she was flattered, but she couldn't let him know that.

"Uh… heh… nothing?" Naruto asked, preparing for the smack to the head he was so used to receiving from her the past few days. Of course, he always blocked it with chakra, but she didn't need to know that.

"Sure it was nothing. Eyes up here, hentai." Ino said, as his gaze began to drift south.

The blond chuckled before blatantly staring at her assets. Then, looking up, he gave her a thumbs up and spoke: "Yep, and don't think you don't like it, Ino-chan."

Of course, this set the girl blushing slightly, as she did actually like the fact that he thought she looked good, before she brought her hand down… once again only hitting the weird cushion she now knew to be a chakra shield.

"Of course I don't like it, Baka!" Ino said, throwing two shuriken at his stomach. He easily caught them as she turned around and walked toward her place, leaving Naruto to his own devices.

"Whatever, I'll just tell everyone what I saw yesterday by the lake." Naruto said, as he followed her, passing by her towards the training ground on the last word.

"W-wait… I went to the lake after training. No one was there… Oh My G-"

(Flashback no Jutsu)

Ino had just finished training for the day. It was around 10 PM, and she was about to head back to her house, when she noticed something. She had learned the water-walking technique from Naruto earlier, and though she could do it, she didn't have the reserves to do it for very long. She had gotten out from the water onto the shore, and sat down admiring the dark water. Feeling no one near her, she did what she'd been longing to do all week….

Removing her shirt, as it was drenched in sweat, she set it in the water at the very edge. Her sports bra kept her relatively covered, so she wasn't too worried. Reaching down, she began thinking of her blond teacher. Damn… she used to only do this for Sasuke… but Naruto was hot. Damn hot.

(**lemon-ish stuff**)

Reaching into her shorts, she moved her right hand towards her pussy. Putting her other hand on her left breast, she began to rub it, as she hiss through her teeth with pleasure. Snaking her hand down further, she made contact with her pussy and began pumping in a finger. Rubbing her clit she moaned out a name, barely recognizable, "Narrr-uutoo-kuuunnnn". Eliciting further moans of pleasure from herself, she removed her shorts, and pushed her panties aside allowing a better route of access to herself. Rubbing furiously, she felt herself drawing to climax and soon moaned out his name again, as she came, her juices running down the rocky shore a few feet to the water's edge, before merging with it. Light substance with dark.

Replacing her shorts and gathering her shirt from where it lay a few feet from where she came, she put it back on, the cool water soothing her now hot body. Had she been listening, she probably would have heard the giggles from the trees behind her. Of course he couldn't see her body, but he could hear her moans. She soon left and Naruto walked over, looking down at the liquid. 'not even Jiraiya had this going for him when he was my age' Naruto thought pervertedly.

(Flashback Kai / **end lemon-ish stuff**)

Ino was frozen to her spot, rigidly planted to the ground, straight as an arrow. "You… You saw that?"

"No" Naruto said from his place a few feet in front of her. "but I heard it. Naruto-kuuun." He mimicked her moan. "I know you like me, Ino-chan…"

Never one to avoid something worth having, especially something free, she walked up to him. Expecting a hit to the head, he put a chakra shield on the back of his head and closed his eyes tight, pretending to be afraid of getting hit. However…

"Okay" Ino said abruptly to him. "Then you better like me". Then, putting her hands around his neck, she pulled him forward towards her, brought down his mask, and brought his lips to hers. Ino continued to kiss him for about 10 seconds before he recovered from the shock and began returning the kiss.

Breaking apart, still panting hard, they could both feel the heat on their lips and simultaneously raised their hands to touch them, wondering if they'd really just done that. Looking at each other, they smiled, before Ino went on her way and Naruto replaced his mask and proceeded to his apartment, a skip in his step.

(1 hour later)

The Hokage had called all the jounin to his office for an emergency meeting, a rare event. The old man stood before them all, worry breaking through his usually calm demeanor.

"The village's scroll of secrets has been stolen. A squad of Ame nin used Mizuki to get it from the storage facility. The Ame nin have since been killed, and rain country denies that they are of their nation, saying they were just missing-ninjas. We don't have any proof, but then, Ame isn't the problem. Mizuki got away with the scroll… and is still in fire country somewhere. I've doubled the ANBU guarding the borders, so it is more than likely that he won't be able to leave.. If you see him, eliminate him on sight. Those of you not on missions, I want half of you to go out searching. He's only a chuunin, you should be able to handle that. Dismissed."

(1 hour later)

Team 10 was lined up at the west gate, Ino and Naruto looking at each other awkwardly whilst Chouji ate from his seemingly never ending bag of chips. In fact, Naruto had, at one point, examined the bag. He found a storage seal at the bottom and sweat dropped. A three point storage seal full of chips… That really could last a lifetime…

Asuma stood before them, and was reading off the mission description. Apparently, bandits had been taking raiding trips around a few neighboring towns, taking advantage of them and raping their women, killing children, and publicly gutting men. They had grown bolder in the past few days and a request came from the nearby town of Aizawi, a C-rank mission that requested for ninja to eliminate the bandits. The three genin nodding at the description, Asuma motioned for them to leave and they set off at a pretty good clip, about 25 mph hopping from tree to tree, Asuma leading them in a diamond formation, Ino to the left, Chouji to the right, Naruto in the back. Ino was mildly aware of the fact that Naruto was looking at her rear as they moved.

After a few hours of travel they made it to Aizawi… only to see something they'd never expected. The town was not a mere town… it was a bustling market full of people. A hub for trade, and even the raiding hadn't slowed down the town much.

Walking into the town, they quickly found the mayor in a rather official looking building. Stepping inside, they found a secretary, who let them in. After an official briefing, they proceeded to their room, where Asuma sat them down for a short talk. They hadn't chatted much during the trip, and the silence really needed to break… especially with Ino's increasing blush every time Naruto looked at her.

"Now, relax here for today. Get some rest. Tomorrow, we're going to the bandit camp. There we can figure out a battle plan. Remember, they're just bandits, this shouldn't be a problem. Remember to eat dinner as we'll be setting out early. Now, we all have to share this room, so I expect you to be respectful to each other." At this last comment, Asuma looked at Naruto, who was still busy looking at Ino, who was turned away and blushing.

"Naruto!" A startled Naruto broke from his teasing of Ino to look at Asuma.

"Yes, Asuma-sensei?" Naruto said lazily.

"Just be ready at 4 AM tomorrow."

"Gotcha." Naruto replied, giving the man a thumbs up before turning and talking to Ino. An exasperated Asuma left the room, thinking to himself 'I swear he's just a different person than Jiraiya described. How is THIS broody?'

Chouji, wandering off to the market to search for something to eat, left Ino and Naruto alone in the room. Though, as soon as Chouji closed the door, Ino launched herself at Naruto, not in happiness but in an attempt to hit him.

"Look, I know we kissed" Ino stated as she slapped him a few times. "But stop watching my ass whenever we go somewhere!"

"Sorry…" Naruto muttered. "Couldn't help it?" He asked innocently looking up with big puppy dog eyes.

Ino sobered from the statement and, well, she couldn't beat his puppy dog eyes, so she went with it. Soon they were lip-locked, and continued to be that way for a long time, breaking for dinner then continuing before going to their beds, tomorrow was gonna be a big day,

(Next Day)

At 4:30 AM, the team stood just outside the edge of the camp of raiders. There were over 200 of them, but that wasn't all. There were some missing-nins among the group, as well as one person who Asuma didn't expect to run into. Mizuki was leading them, probably planning to make a large attack on the border in order to escape the ANBU. It was genius… send in the fodder and escape in between.

Observing the camp, Asuma had no clue as to how to attack it and have every genin live. Heck, he didn't know if he could fight 200 guys and Mizuki and live, exhaustion, not skill, was the problem there. Turning to his genin, he explained what he hoped wouldn't disappoint them too much:

"Team 10, we need to retreat. There is a missing-nin chuunin here in possession of a valuable scroll of Konoha's. We will inform ANBU as soon as we get back, they'll take care of it."

Ino and Chouji resigned to not getting to fight, but with the large amount of people, they looked almost happy to give up. However, Naruto was not one to stand down.

"Asuma-sensei, by the time we get back, or even get a message to Konoha, he cold break through the border. If the scroll is really that valuable, we can't waste that kind of time trying to get it back, he may even be able to copy it in this much time. He obviously can't have been leader of these bandits very long, maybe we can get them to abandon him…"

"Naruto, you may be right that we can't waste time, but we can't handle this, and with Mizuki leading them, there is no way that they would leave his side in combat."

"Mizuki-sensei?" Ino and Chouji blurted out, with Naruto looking at them confusedly while Asuma mentally berated himself. '_shit… did not mean to tell them. Idiot._'

"Yes, Mizuki is in charge. He was working with rain ninja to get the forbidden scroll from Konoha. We're leaving this up to ANBU, now, let's go, Before we get spotted."

"Go where?" A voice asked from just within the camp. They could see a large man about 20 feet away with a two katanas who looked to be a missing-nin who joined up with Mizuki.

Asuma, hoping not to be noticed, chucked a kunai at the man, which would have connected with his neck had it not been so easily parried by one of his katanas. The man's chuckling and the sound of metal against metal drew attention, and soon a gathering of over 100 of the raiders, missing-nin and bandits alike, were surrounding Team 10s position while they tried hopelessly to reason with the man with the katanas, who just continued to laugh maniacally.

"Well" Asuma whispered to his team "We may die here, but we will die with honor. I expect you to fight as Konoha ninjas, with honor, with a will of fire. Do not stop until you can't go on any longer. We are the best village of them all, and we will fight!" Asuma's voice had been growing until he was shouting, in an attempt to scare the now 120 raiders surrounding them.

"As a member of the Twelve Elite Guardians, I cannot let you continue as you have been, as a threat to Fire Country!" Asuma shouted before diving into battle. Trench knives drawn and lengthened with his wind manipulation, Asuma cut through the man's katanas and put a hole through his head, before moving on to slaughter more.

Naruto, on the other hand, was more concerned for his team mates. Seeing there reluctance, he decided to give them a little push. "I know you don't want to kill, but as shinobi it is our job. I'm not saying that killing is okay, you of course shouldn't enjoy it, but right now, they are bandits who have stolen, killed, raped, pillaged, who are helping a missing-nin of the leaf, and at this moment, it is us or them. Now… we must fight." Naruto said before disappearing from their view. Screams of pain from various bandits could be heard only seconds later.

Ino turned to Chouji and nodded to him, and they both set off to help Naruto, killing a few bandits on the way. It turned their insides, but they knew it had to be done, so they dealt with it.

Arriving at where Naruto was, they suddenly realized two things. One, they couldn't possibly lose, and secondly… Naruto was amazing. Jumping into combat with him, Ino wielding two chakra charged kunai and Chouji rolling over people, they quickly began bringing down the raiders.

Naruto was happy to see that actually found it in them to kill, and continued on his way through the bandits. He was using just kunai, not needing to use any chakra at all to deal killing blows… that it, until he realized he'd left Ino and Chouji behind and had gone out further into the camp. Now, the remaining 85 raiders were surrounding him, Mizuki standing just behind them all, laughing at Naruto.

"I don't know who you are, little genin, or how you managed to beat that many, but you are currently surrounded by 85 missing nin ranking D to C, all genin or chuunin. Good luck… now, Finish him." Mizuki commanded.

A man in front of Naruto began doing hand seals, soon finishing and shouting his technique "Katon: Housenka no jutsu".

All the fireballs contacted with Naruto, and the man was smug in the knowledge that he'd just burned a child to death. That is… smug in that knowledge until the smoke cleared to reveal an entirely un-injured Naruto.

Naruto just looked up at the man and shrugged, before speaking the last words the man would ever hear: "Is that it?"

Charging forward with his natural speed, about Jounin level, Naruto charged some chakra to his fingertip, exactly enough to shape the chakra into a small spear, with Naruto put through the man's left eye, into his brain.

Looking out over the other missing-nin, Naruto noticed some of their hardened looks and decided to end this as quickly as possible. Performing a the hand seals Tiger, Snake, Horse, Ox, Ram, Rat, Ox. Naruto finished the series and shouted out one of his original techniques: "Ninpou: Chakra Spear no Jutsu".

Suddenly, many, many blue spears appeared, all forming from Naruto's chakra. In a fluid motion, Naruto directed all of them to shoot out at the missing nin. A few got away, but others found a spear through both themselves and someone behind them. In total, about 20 missing nin got away… until Naruto directed the chakra spears to continue to attack. 10 seconds later, all but Mizuki were dead. It was Naruto's only S-rank jutsu… and it certainly earned the rank.

Turning to Mizuki, Naruto found himself slightly out of breath, that attack having used 25 percent of his chakra supply. However, the look on Mizuki's face was priceless. A boy.. a GENIN just demolished his entire force of missing nin and didn't even have a scratch on him.

Mizuki gained a look of fury on his face, before forming a cross seal and shouting "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu". Immediately afterwards two clones appeared next to Mizuki each picking up a sword from the ground next to the original Mizuki, who also picked up a sword.

"Well, let's see how you do against a real Chuunin. This is a trick I picked up from that little forbidden scroll you seem to want." The man said arrogantly.

"If that is true, then prison too good for you. For treason and for attempting to spread the village's secrets, I sentence you to death." His eyes were blue and icy, channeling only hatred at the man. Usually Naruto was neutral in battle, but this time, the village he had been taught to respect and treasure by Jiraiya, had been betrayed by this man.. and Naruto wanted to send him to hell.

"Prepare to DIE!" Both Naruto and Mizuki shouted simultaneously. Mizuki's clones charged first, both swinging their swords with surprising elegance. The clone on the right swung for Naruto's head, while the other aimed for his legs. Naruto did nothing to block, except bring up his chakra shields in two different places. The swords merely bounced off, as Naruto charged chakra to his pointer fingers, making them into tiny spears. Putting them through the eyes of the clones, they disappeared. Not even looking at Mizuki, who dropped his sword and pulled out two demon wind shuriken he'd kept in storage scrolls, Naruto began performing seals.

25 seals and 2 seconds later, Naruto called out his technique: "Ninpou: Body Acceleration Jutsu". Pumping chakra through all of his body, and accelerating its movement to twice that of its normal flow, Naruto doubled both his speed and power, now just 50 percent faster and more powerful than Jiraiya himself. Looking up at Mizuki again, Naruto didn't even give the man time to react.

It was at this time that the rest of Team 10 finished off their last opponents, spattered with blood. They were only normal raiders mostly, a few missing-nin scattered amongst the ranks. Running to where Naruto was, they arrived just in time to see the destruction caused by that massive amount of Naruto's chakra they had felt just 20 seconds earlier. They also head Naruto call out his technique, before disappearing from their view, not even Asuma being able to follow the boy's movement.

Naruto was circling Mizuki faster than the missing nin's eye could see. So fast that his feet barely touched the ground before he was somewhere else. The technique was, of course, draining his supply of chakra, one percent of his supply per every five seconds, but that was slow enough that it could be used effectively in combat. The technique also made it so that molding chakra was faster. Naruto didn't even have to use hand seals for most of his techniques with this technique active.

Deciding to finish Mizuki off quickly, Naruto created a shield of chakra covering the entire front of his body, sustained quite easily. Shaping the shield so that spike of chakra emerged from the front, Naruto ran into Mizuki as fast as possible. Then, dispelling the techniques, he looked down at his handiwork…. Mizuki was full of holes… definitely dead… or so Naruto thought.

Going to Mizuki's tent, Naruto got the forbidden scroll which had been laying next to the man's futon, likely because he'd been reading it, and sealed it into a storage scroll for safekeeping.

Leaving the tent, Naruto felt a chakra surge. Mizuki got up, full repaired, many black moon-shaped marks covering his newly repaired skin, apparently coming from a seal on the man's neck. Knowing much about the cursed seal, Naruto knew it would take more to kill the man…. However his thoughts distracted him. Mizuki was no longer in front of him… he was behind him… a kunai coming towards Naruto's back. Forming a quick chakra shield, Naruto turned around, simultaneously grasping a fallen demon wind shuriken from the ground before him and, holding Mizuki firmly, swung the shuriken, removing the man's head from his body.

The marks were all immediately gone, but the man was able to get out just one word before death. "Demon."

And all Naruto could think was, '_How did he know?_' before collapsing from the kunai which broke through the hastily made chakra shield and stabbed into his right lung. Removing the kunai from his position on the ground, Naruto could feel it begin to heal itself, but Naruto's pain tolerance had gone down in the past few years, as his shields were mastered… not quite perfected, and he was unused to pain.

Falling into sweet unconscious blackness, Naruto didn't even feel Ino crying on his chest, or Asuma picking him up, or the whole trip back to Konoha. Something was messing with his healing… Naruto knew it, but that would have to wait until they got back to Konoha.

End Chapter

Thanks for being so patient guys. I finally have a general feel of where I want this fic to go. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review. Remember, reviews help me get ideas, and thus make me update faster.


	3. Chapter 3

Uzumaki Naruto: Forge Your Own Way

Sorry that the updates are kind of random. I just seemed to get inspired every now and then, and thus, more updates. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its contents. If I did, Anko would wear nothing… heck yeah.

Chapter 3: Reason to Live

The beeping of the heart monitor was all that was keeping Ino awake at that moment. It was 11:49 PM and she was resting by the side of her fallen savior, someone who brought shudders of anticipation to her spine with every smile, someone powerful, someone to keep her safe. Her blond savior, one who inspired courage in all, was down on the bed before her, having not woken up since the two days before, when he was brought back to Konoha.

Looking down with hopeful eyes she silently prayed he would wake up soon… The wound had already closed… he was in perfect health… if only his mind would recover.

(Naruto's mindscape)

'The pain… why won't it go away… why must I feel it, the blood, my blood was on the ground… it is not for them to take, it is mine, my own… my life. How long has it been since I last felt pain? Ah yes.. that time with those enhanced freaks….'

Looking around, Naruto's body in his mindscape began moving from corridor to corridor, sifting through memories of his life. Finding that moment, he looked inside, and began reliving it.

(Flashback no Jutsu)

Jiraiya was to his right, an unknown mist-nin to the right, Naruto in the middle, surrounded by these… demons. Jiraiya was currently busy fighting off the nine that surrounded him, the mist-nin working on the three attacking him, while 1 was busy with Naruto.

It had two giant demon wings on its back, both grayish tan and shaped like bat wings except with large spikes sticking out of the sides that could easily rip Naruto in half. It had one head, with two elongated horns sticking out and to the side, like a bull. Along with that, it was twice the size of Jiraiya, with monstrous legs that were as wide as Naruto himself, being only 9. It also had two long arms, twice as long as its arms should have been considering its size, and it had claws one and a half inches long on each of its six fingers. All this came from the seal on its next, the seal which transformed these people from ninjas into monsters, then sins against nature.

It snorted once, then drew its wings up on its back and sprang at Naruto. Creating a chakra barrier, Naruto blocked the first strike, then the second, but each time the barrier was too weak to old back the full blow, a single finger from each strike getting past the blow, one hitting Naruto's stomach, the other hitting his left shoulder.

The pain… that is what Naruto remembered. It was the first time he'd been hit since he learned how to create chakra shields, except for the blunt blows from Jiraiya. The first time he'd been cut since… ever. Sure, there had been occasional cuts from traveling through the woods… but these were gashes, deep ones. And this is when Naruto lost control.. to the demon within.

His body began glowing red, instantly healing itself. Naruto turned into a tiny demon by himself, and ripped the monster before him to shreds, before charging into the full-scale battle that was going on. It was a raid, a raid on a keep Jiraiya found that belonged to Orochimaru for creation of these monsters. There were 50 of them left before Naruto's transformation… seconds later there were none, Orochimaru the only one to escape.

'That's how Mizuki knew… he was working for Orochimaru… how many other spies are there… And how many more times will I lose myself before I can control my pain….'

(Flashback Kai + Exit Mindscape)

Ino was currently working her mind on how she could wake Naruto up… Then she remembered her connection… the one she made with him and used those two times during that week she trained with him. Settling herself, Ino thought of his voice, his warmth, of Naruto. Of all that he is, all that caring soul… and the connection came.

(Naruto's mindscape)

Naruto-kun… can you hear me?

Ino-chan! H-how are you in here?

I'm not… I'm using that connection you taught me… Just please… wake up. Pl-

And just as quickly as the connection came, it was broken. Naruto tried to leave his mindscape, but couldn't, he found it beyond his control. Sifting through more memories, Naruto finally found one that looked different than others. His mind was a maze of doors, all of them orange for normal ones, black for ones locked away, but this one, this one was blue as Ino's eyes. Stepping inside, Naruto found himself back again.. in another memory.

(Flashback no Jutsu)

Naruto was standing in a field of wild flowers near an oasis in the desert of Wind Country, looking at them with wonder. 'How can something so beautiful grow in such a desolate area?'

Pondering this, Naruto took a second look at his own life. True, he was training to be a ninja, and had already begun his goal of perfect control… but, why? To surpass his father…

"What is my reason for life… I need more than just my goal..." Naruto muttered under his breath. However, Jiraiya heard it.

"You wanted to surpass your father, to protect his village, right?" Jiraya said quietly.

"Yes… but I need more than that. Protecting a village… with no one in it that I know… seems empty." The boy said more clearly this time.

"Then, you must find someone in that village worth protecting. Someone you can care for…. Someone you can love." Jiraiya replied sagely, thinking of his sensei and his team mate, two people he would fight tooth and nail for.

"Love?" the blond replied, confused.

"Yes… someone you are willing to die for, someone who will always be there for you, and you for her. Someone you'd be willing to anything for…. Someone you can hold and… when you're older…"

"Ero-sennin!" The blond said, the tension breaking.

(Flashback Kai)

'Is that it?' Naruto thought to himself… 'Do I love Ino? No… I mean, I would die for her… and I care for her… but I don't think I love her, it's too soon to tell is all…'

However a different voice answered his thoughts. It was deep, filled with power. "**Then why did you make that bond with her?**"

The voice came from down the hallway, a hallway which Naruto then walked down. Coming to the end, he found himself facing the great demon sealed inside him, but Naruto was not afraid.

"I made that bond to make training her easier, that is all."

"**But she doesn't see it that way, does she. You know you can't let her close though, don't you kit. If she hurts you, you may… lose control.**" The fox let out a long maniacal laugh before staring back at Naruto with his gigantic red slit eyes.

"It is only that which is physical which may release you. And I can send you back. You will not hurt this village or anyone in it, as long as I can still fight."

"**Yes, if you can. This seal is gradually giving you my power, but finally… human… I have found a flaw. This seal only works so long as your soul keeps me within… but when you are injured, in any way… your will and soul weaken… Remember, next time you are injured, it won't matter… I'll kill them all.**" The demon spoke these last words before disappearing into the darkness of his cell.

Naruto stood there, motionless, staring into the darkness. He'd managed to keep the demon at bay for years… 'what could change its opinion of its chances for escape so easily? It had something to do with his soul weakening… but how could that be possible…'

Naruto felt a rising in his chest… and began floating upwards towards a light in the ceiling. Reaching for it, Naruto soon felt giddy… and awoke.

(Exit Mindscape)

Ino was laying on his chest, head down. Looking over at the clock, Naruto saw it was about 6 AM and knew she'd be waking up soon… as she must have been asleep sitting like that. He looked down at the blond girl contentedly and said quietly "I think I love you." Before falling into a dreamless sleep. What he didn't see was a wide-eyed girl sitting up five minutes later, looking at him. She was quiet for a few more minutes, before she reached up and kissed him on the lips, whispering in his ear "I think I love you too."

(Next Day)

Ino and Naruto were chatting in his hospital room, talking over Ino's plans for training, the upcoming Chuunin exam. Naruto already promised Ino that he would continue to help her train, but he was concerned by one factor in particular. The sad look in her eyes when he said nothing else. It was almost as if she knew he was holding back his feelings. Deciding to bite the bullet, Naruto forced more will towards keeping the seal held, and began.

"Ino." The girl turned from her position at the window, gazing at him with a nice smile on her face.

"Yes?" She asked, leaving a pause.

"Did…. Did you hear me last…" Naruto said shakily. Her eyes shifted down just before he finished, and Naruto just didn't want to hear her rejection. "No, forget it."

Ino looked up once again, the blush on her cheeks fading as he turned away. She was about to reach out and say that she did hear him last night, but she was interrupted by the door opening, and the Hokage walking in. Deciding she probably wouldn't be allowed to hear whatever her leader was going to say, she left the room, staying near the door to eavesdrop anyway.

"Naruto… I am sorry. I didn't know your tolerance had dropped so far. Please, if you want to go back and train with Jiraiya, I'll understand." The Hokage said, as he closed the door behind Ino.

"It's okay Ojji-san. I just need to be more careful. I did notice something on the mission though…. Mizuki."

"What about him?" The Hokage asked expectantly.

"He… He had the cursed seal. He knew about **it**. That means, the Snake knows. But for that he'd have to have been in Konoha at the time of the attack. Ojji-san, what exactly happened when **it** was sealed?"

"I'm sorry, Naruto, but I can't tell you that, I will tell you when you're older, okay? It was your father's request."

Naruto looked down, disappointed, but soon cheered up, a happy grin on his uncovered face, the mask long forgotten from the battle. "That's okay Ojji-san, you'll tell me eventually. I'll be patient…". 'Or I can just ask Jiraiya later' Naruto thought evilly.

"You are sure you're okay Naruto?" the Hokage asked again. Naruto nodded, and the old man walked out of the room, Ino having hidden around the corner. The old man smiled knowingly at the shadow of Ino clear in the hallway, but didn't comment as he walked away.

Within the room, Naruto lay back in bed, staring at the ceiling. For entertainment, he started creating different shaped with his chakra, twirling it around to create drawings. In just a few hours he'd be out of there… and off to the shrine.

(Midnight)

Naruto crept slowly out the window of his room. Using chakra he stuck to the side of the building, before jumping off and landing safely in the branches of a few trees. Running swiftly and silently, he reached his apartment. Changing into new clothes, he looked over his equipment before pulling out a small pendant. It had the Uzumaki clan swirl on it, behind which there was a pentagon containing it. It was the only gift he ever got from his mother. Sadly, however, all Uzumakis died when the Kyuubi attacked, all but him. No one would ever even tell him what clan member gave birth to him.

But then, Naruto didn't expect much from the village anymore. He knew his father was the Yondaime, that his mother was from the Uzumaki clan, and that he housed the Kyuubi, but whatever happened that day a little more than 13 years ago was still kept secret. It was a mystery, and he was gradually getting small clues… such as the Snake's apparent appearance that day.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Naruto placed the pendant around his neck. Putting on standard black ninja pants, a thin rope of silver chain links to be used as a belt, a mesh long sleeved shirt, and a black tank-top over it, Naruto looked in the mirror.

'Even with all the black, my hair will make me stand out. I'll just have to be fast. And the mask seems unnecessary, anyone will recognize me from the hair or eyes.' Naruto thought. 'Good thing no one knows about the Kyuubi, if they did I could get killed doing this'.

Dashing out the door, he closed it behind himself. Barefoot, he leapt from roof to roof, cushioning his feet with chakra to make sure they made no noise. He soon found himself near the wall, about a mile from the gates. Crouching down, he made use of one of his stranger skills: polar manipulation.

Creating a shield of chakra, Naruto made it attract light in the direction of the spot right next to himself. Thus, everything within 10 feet of the chakra vortex was seemingly just darkness, the vortex containing a few colors, mostly invisible.

Looking over his shoulder, Naruto saw no one. When the next shifty of guards passed by, the boy in black quickly made his way up the wall before shifting down the other side. The guards took 20 seconds to change position, it took Naruto 20 seconds to get to the other side. Sticking to the wall with his chakra, he let the vortex on the other side release, sending a spray of colors at the guards. The distraction worked as he heard the guards shout "It's in the village!" followed by the sound of footsteps. Quickly jumping down the rest of the wall, Naruto leapt off into the darkness.

Fueling his body with chakra, Naruto quickly did the 25 necessary seals and whispered "Ninpou: Greater Body Acceleration no Jutsu". Tripling his previous speed, he was now merely a yellow and black blur. Moving twice as fast as Jiraiya, though nowhere near his dad's speed, Naruto blurred through the forest. Quickly, he found himself behind the Hokage Mountain, in a cave far behind near a clear blue waterfall with a whirlpool at the bottom.

Just inside the cave lay a shrine, a golden miniature castle with a spiral at the top, like the sun. In the basin of the shrine, at the castle gates, is a second spiral, water swirling down the drain at drips from a pipe on the ceiling constantly refills it. It was his mother's clan's shrine. It faced the waterfall and the cool blue basin with the whirlpool in it, starting just a few feet away.

Kneeling before the shrine, Naruto touched his pendant, and let his chakra surround him. Touching the shrine, he felt the golden chakra of the shrine enter him, flow through, and retreat. He could literally feel the demon within him being repressed, he could feel the healing righting itself. To make sure, Naruto cut his palm, letting the blood flow into the whirlpool of the shrine's basin. The cut healed in seconds, the Kyuubi was held back once again.

"Mother, father. I will surpass you, I will protect the village you so love, and I will hold the beast that destroyed you and my kin. I swear it, on this blood, to the shrine of my people. I will forge the new way for our clan, and I will return here. Thank you for your strength, both of you."

Uttering a short prayer, Naruto left the shrine, letting go of his pendant. Turning from the shrine, he headed back to Konoha, hopefully, the seal would hold just a few more years.

(One week later)

An exhausted Naruto was laying with his back against a tree, staring at Ino and Chouji sparring, whilst Asuma smoked and watched from his position standing to the side. It was taijutsu only, and Ino had the clear advantage in speed. Chouji's strength training with his father certainly made a difference in the fight though. A single punch of his could break a tree of Naruto's width around. Not something most genin could handle. However, Ino was not just any genin, she was given a training regimen by Naruto, which she followed like a madwoman, making sure she got through every exercise every day.

Streaking towards Chouji, Ino lashed out with a combination of high punches and sweeping kicks in order to try to get Chouji on the ground. Tripping the boy, She launched an axe-kick which threw him to the ground hard, making a small crater.

Attempting to stomp down on the boy's chest, she was surprised when her foot was caught by Chouji's hand. The large boy twisted the foot in order to spin Ino before kicking up with left foot, launching her off, making her skid across the ground about 10 feet.

Rising to her feet again, Ino dashed forward. Punching forward, Chouji blocked easily, but Ino stopped her punch and opened her hand, grasping Chouji's left forearm. Sidestepping to the right, she spun on her left foot and tried to kick Chouji's legs out from under him with her right, but he jumped. Using the new force provided by his jump, Ino dropped to the ground and, using the force of her spin, threw Chouji headfirst into the ground, nearly knocking him out.

Asuma's clapping stopped the match as Ino got to her feet, lifting Chouji up with her. The larger boy grumbled something but it was inaudible to those around him.

"Great job Ino, you've improved a great deal. You too Chouji. And yes, if you had your club it would have been different, but you didn't. Now, Naruto, you're up. And remember, no chakra."

Ino and Naruto faced each other. Taking a loose defensive stance, Naruto dreaded the coming fight. He never used taijutsu without chakra… ever. It was in his style. Heck, he'd even learned how to make blades out of chakra so he could fight people using kenjutsu, but this was different. Earlier that week, Asuma said they were going to be entered in the Chuunin exam in a month, and that Naruto would need to up his pain tolerance by then, which meant getting hurt every once in a while. However, it was not going so well, since Naruto instinctively put up chakra shields to block attacks.

Ino took a fierce attack stance, getting ready to fight the world's wussiest taijutsu fighter (in her opinion). Upon Asuma's call of "Hajime" she darted forward. Naruto was damned fast. Ino lashed out with a series of punches and kicks, while Naruto simply dodged around them all, making sure she didn't even clip him.

Dancing around her attack, Naruto finally decided to escape the chance of his being injured at all. Ducking underneath her guard, Naruto threw an uppercut, throwing Ino back into a tree, making cracks on the surface.

"Bastard" the blond girl muttered, before wiping the blood from her mouth and charging again. Naruto quickly dodged under her guard again and connected with a brutal kick to her stomach, sending her back into the same tree, this time the impact causing her to break it in half, the trunk falling behind her.

Ino picked herself up once again, and this time went for a different approach. Strutting up to Naruto, she showed off her thighs a little, swaying her hips. Slowly, Naruto's guard lowered. No matter how many times they had made out recently, Naruto still couldn't resist her. Getting up to him, she kissed him full on the lips, her tongue entering his mouth before he could respond. Getting too involved in the kiss, he didn't notice Ino rearing back her right fist for a punch before it struck him, sending him back a few feet while he clutched his stomach in agony.

"W-What was that for?" He hissed as he fell to his knees.

Ino simply smirked, before flipping her hair behind her and walking up to the heavily breathing Naruto again. "I needed to get a hit on you somehow, didn't I?"

"That was a dirty trick" Naruto huffed out before wincing as the pain grew when he spoke.

"Ah quit being such a baby. If you can't take a little pain, what kind of shinobi are you going to be?" Ino replied sardonically.

"The kind that doesn't get hit, or I would be if this bastard of a sensei would let me use my freaking chakra. Seriously, if I don't have the chakra to put up a shield I'm already dead. Any ninja that can't use chakra is more screwed than me any day" Naruto said.

Meanwhile, a kid in a green jumpsuit with a bowl-cut and big, fuzzy eyebrows suddenly sneezed, interrupting his series of 1999 kicks, one from completion. "YOSH! Now I must go do 3000 punches, and if I cannot do that, I will do 100 laps around Konoha on my hands while dodging Kunai! And If I cannot do that, I will…"

Naruto shuddered for some inexplicable reason. "Well, I guess Ino wins this round. Now can I use chakra?" Naruto whined to Asuma. Asuma just looked at him, then agreed.

"Yes, you can use chakra now, but under one condition. You must fight me." Asuma said, pulling out his trench knives. It was the first time any of them had really sparred again Asuma, but considering Naruto's abilities and what the man had heard from Jiraiya a few days ago, it was only proper to test the young man.

(Flashback no Jutsu)

Asuma was sitting on the railing around the roof of the Hokage tower, cigarette in his mouth, when a figure came up beside him. Jiraiya, the toad sage, sat down.

"So, how's the kid doing?" Jiraiya said quietly.

"He's doing well. He has phenomenal control, beyond anything I've ever seen, even with those gigantic reserves of his. Did you know?"

"That he was good? Who do you think started him on his training? To my knowledge he only knows the academy basics, Kage Bunshin, and other than that every technique he knows is just pure chrakra manipulation. I swear, if that kid every decided to learn elemental manipulation, he'd be more powerful than me. I just couldn't convince him."

"Well, that yes. But" The bearded man crushed his cigarette against the railing, putting it out. "Did you know his weakness?"

"Yeah, I know. But I can't do anything about it. He believes those shields of his to be basically invincible." The white haired sage replied.

"The other day, the kid got stabbed. It wasn't even that bad, his team mates had way more cuts and bruises than he did, and with his healing factor, it was basically gone by the time we got to Konoha. Still, he passed out from the pain. What can I do?"

"My suggestion? Injure him. Prove to him that those things aren't invincible. I didn't do it because he was living with me, I didn't want him to fear me, since he was so young. Don't get him too bad though."

Asuma nodded his head, and the toad sage disappeared in a swirl of leaves that seemed to pop into existence whenever someone performed that technique, whether or not trees were around.

(Flashback Kai)

Ino and Chouji looked shocked, but backed off. Whatever their lazy sensei had in mind, they weren't going to get in his way. Standing off to the side, Ino cheered for Naruto while Chouji shouted a few words of encouragement.

Asuma stood across from Naruto, trench knives out. Naruto stood perfectly still, his hands at his sides. From the sidelines Chouji shouted "Hajime" and the fight began.

Asuma shot at Naruto, attacking with his wind-chakra charged trench knives, he felt the pressure as his two knives impacted a shield of chakra. Naruto simply smirked as he strengthened the force of the shield, making it polar to Asuma's knives, repelling them.

Asuma growled, but jumped back. Firing off a Goukakyuu no Jutsu, he watched as the flames enveloped Naruto. Hearing no screams, he assumed Naruto had just shielded himself from it, and he was proven correct as Naruto stood in the middle of the blackened patch of earth, still unharmed.

Making a few clones, Asuma sent them forward, but every hit was deflected by a shield until Naruto made a few handseals. The chakra around the boy began to swirl, becoming somewhat visible. As it spun faster, it began to such the clones towards Naruto, until he suddenly reversed the rotation, dispersing all the clones with a shield that looked similar to the Hyuuga's Hakke Kaiten.

Finally, Naruto moved. 25 seals and 2 seconds later, Naruto shouted "Ninpou: Body Acceleration no Jutsu" and sprinted forward faster than Asuma could follow. However, his years of combat told him to punch behind him, and he did, his fist striking Naruto's face, sending the boy into a tree, breaking the trunk into pieces.

Naruto held his face, his nose broken from the force of Asuma's fist and the trench knives' metal. His face was bleeding heavily as the boy cried out in agony, roaring in pain as blood covered his lower torso, coming from his face.

Slowly, the screaming died down, as Naruto stopped screaming, outer turmoil turning into inner turmoil.

(Naruto's Mindscape)

"Hello… Fox" Naruto said, standing before the cage as the Kyuubi thrashed around, attacking the gates with his tails.

"**Hello. Mortal Scum.**" The great Kyuubi no Kitsune no Youkai said, ending his futile attack on the gates.

"Like my latest reinforcement?" Naruto spoke quietly.

"**It will not last. In one month it will weaken again and I will take over. You can't protect yourself from me forever. Now, weakling, go back to your suffering. A weak vessel such as you doesn't deserve to be in my presence.**"

Naruto quickly rose to the surface of his mind, chuckling on the way at the idea of himself getting seriously injured. That is, until he awoke once more.

(Exit Mindscape)

Naruto's cries of agony started again, but they were lessened, having only stopped for a second. His pants stopped, and Naruto got up, having managed to not pass out for long.

"Asuma-sensei…." Naruto said, his voice murderous. A ball of spinning chakra began forming in his right hand, the size of a basketball. It was charged with the strongest polarization of magnetism Naruto could manage, making the chakra in it somewhat similar to the chakra used in the tree climbing exercise. Whatever it touched, would stick to it.

"Prepare to lose!" Naruto shouted as he threw the ball of chakra, rolling it along the ground like a bowling ball. "RASENGAN: KATAMARI!" Naruto shouted.

The ball of chakra rolled along the ground, tearing dirt, trees, rocks, and anything else it touched up on its way, forming a gigantic ball of matter.

(A/N: If anyone has played Katamari Damacy, think of it as the ball the things push around. It picks up stuff and keeps rolling, regardless of shape)

Asuma had no time to dodge as the gigantic ball rolled over him before dissipating into just a big pile of trees, rocks, earth, grass, and the occasional woodland animal.

Ino and Chouji just looked on with shock and awe before they looked at Naruto who was panting from the chakra use of the attack. Now, chakra exhaustion was something they'd never seen from Naruto. They'd seen him get physically exhausted, but falling down from chakra exhaustion just plain didn't happen.

Picking up Asuma, Chouji beckoned to Ino, having her pick up Naruto before leading her to his house to eat before going back to training. It was gonna be a long month.

(Three Weeks Later)

For the past three weeks, Naruto had been dodging Ino's questions about his technique, either by changing the topic or finding someway to run away, so that he wouldn't have to explain it. However, today he had a date with Ino. Their date a week ago had ended well, despite Ino's occasional comment on the technique Naruto used, only to be met with him asking "Hmm, did you say something?" In a way Sakura told Ino seemed awfully like her sensei's behavior.

Oh well, at least Naruto didn't read Icha Icha. 'I hope' Ino thought, having not been to Naruto's apartment recently. What she didn't know is that the drop off of Icha Icha books in recent years had been due to Jiraiya not being able to do research with Naruto around. If Ino knew that, she'd probably give Jiraiya something to write about.

Walking through the park over to Ino's house, Naruto reflected on the past few weeks. They were given one day off a week from training, where, quite surprisingly, Asuma managed to run all of them ragged, so much that they really had no time for anything else. Naruto had been training to get his pain tolerance up, but he was still weak in that sense. A strong kick from Asuma would put him down for a few seconds, but from his team mates, Naruto was able to do pretty well, no longer collapsing from every single hit.

Naruto soon found himself at Ino's doorstep. Stepping into the small shop, he saw Ino leaning over at the waist in front of some flowers, apparently looking for something. Deciding that it would be worth the pain he'd no doubt receive later, Naruto walked up behind the girl and patted her on the butt, before giving it a light squeeze.

The reaction was immediate. Ino squeaked, and turned around in a huff wondering what bastard had decided to grope her. Seeing Naruto standing there with a blush on his face, a stupid grin, and, with no doubt, a chakra shield covering the front of his body. Ino decided to get her revenge in another way.

"It's okay, lower the shield Naruto-kun, I'm not going to hit you."

"Promise?" Naruto said quizzically.

"Yes, I promise. Sheesh." Ino said, hanging up her apron on the rack behind the counter. As soon as Naruto dropped the shield, Ino tackled him, before catching him in a noogie. Naruto struggled for a moment before reaching around and squeezing her butt again. This time she let go, but Naruto just kept that stupid grin on his face.

"Thought you weren't going to hit me?"

"Deception is a ninja's greatest tool, now come on, I wanna go to the park." Ino said, flipping her hair and taking Naruto by the hand, leading him out of the store and calling back to her parents "The shop's all yours!"

The sound of swearing could be heard by her father, but she paid no mind as she led Naruto down the street, laughing madly.

In a few moments, they were just walking down the street like a normal couple, Naruto's left arm around Ino's waist, her head on his shoulder. That is, until they heard the sound of shouts further up the road. Naruto looked at Ino, before going into 'Ninja mode' and sprinting up ahead, Ino following just slightly behind.

The scene he came upon was of a pink-haired banshee Naruto knew to be Sakura standing next to a pale, homosexual-looking kid with a paintbrush fiercely painting on a scroll, two kids, and one more kid being held up by a large boy in a black cat suit with kabuki make-up on. Next to him was a blond girl in a dress with what looked like a fan strapped to her back.

Naruto just signaled to the black-cat-suit Suna nin. The boy took notice, and said arrogantly: "What do ya want blondie? I'm busy here."

"May I suggest you put the kid down? He's the Hokage's grandson, and unless you are here to cause an international incident, I suggest you comply."

"And what if I don't? He's my punching bag, so shut up." the boy said. Next to him, the girl said: "Kankurou, don't make a scene, we don't want to be disqualified before we even start."

"Disqualified from what?" Sakura asked, confused. Naruto just slapped his forehead lightly at the girl's ignorance. "The chuunin exams" came the voice of Ino, as she began talking with Sakura. Mentally Naruto thanked Ino, to which she replied 'Your welcome' through her link.

Suddenly, a pebble flew at Kankurou, distracting him long enough for the young boy to bite him and get out of Kankurou's grip. He winced slightly in pain, but he was suddenly perfectly still.

The boy who threw the rock jumped when a voice came from his right and down, the voice of a red-haired boy who teleported mid-sentence next to Kankurou.

"You are an embarrassment to our village."

"G-Gaara. T-They started it." The kabuki boy said, pointing to the young boy who had bitten his hand.

"Shut up, or I'll kill you. You two, what are your names?" Gaara asked, looking at Sasuke then at Naruto.

"Uchiha Sasuke"

"Uzumaki Naruto"

"I am Gaara. I look forward to giving both of your bloods to mother. Now come, we must go." Gaara said. The girl with the fan looked back and said "I'm Temari, see you in the exams." Before hurrying after her brothers.

Sasuke left with Naruto and the three kids and Naruto and Ino continued on their way. It would be an interesting exam indeed.

Chapter End.

Thank you for being so patient with me. I really like the idea I have going here, but I just got so caught up in my college stuff that I had no time for it. So, sorry for the delay. I hope you liked the chapter, even though it was written in parts. And remember to review! Your reviews give me ideas which make updates come faster!


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